Join Allen County 4-H
Who Can Join?
Ohio 4-H membership is based on a child's age and grade as of January 1 of the current project year. Eligibility for Cloverbud participation begins when a child is enrolled in Kindergarten and is five years old. Eligibility for participation in 4-H projects and competitive events begins when a child is age 8 and in the 3rd grade. Any youth age 9 or above is eligible for project membership, regardless of grade level. Membership requires enrollment in an authorized Ohio 4-H club or group under the direction of an OSU Extension professional or an approved adult volunteer. A youth’s 4-H eligibility ends December 31 the year he or she turns 19. Joining Ohio 4-H is a privilege and responsibility for individuals and is subject to the Ohio 4-H Code of Conduct and applicable policies of The Ohio State University.
How to Join?
Join a club in your county near your home or school. Experience 4-H with a friend, invite them to join with you. If you would like more information about the clubs that are available in your area, please click HERE to complete a short survey so we can assist you better.
When to Join?
Most clubs start up in late winter or early spring. Join by April 15th ,the county's 4-H enrollment deadline, to take advantage of all 4-H opportunities including participation in Fair.
What is There to Do?
Members may select 4-H project(s) to explore through club and county activities. Use the 4-H Family Guide to learn about each and every one. Cloverbud members, age 5 and in Kindergarten until age 8 and in 3rd grade participate in non-competitive activities exploring a variety of fun, hands-on interest areas.
Preparing Youth for Success
4-H is a non-formal educational, youth development program offered to individuals age 5 and in kindergarten to age 19. Ohio 4-H youth development reaches more than 240,000 youth each year – helping kids “learn by doing” through hands-on activities.
All 4-H programs focus on active involvement and quality experiences which stimulate lifelong learning of values and skills. 4-H members learn valuable lessons in leadership, communication and collaboration while increasing their knowledge in math, science, technology and a variety of other topics.
4-H creates fun while learning in a variety of ways. Kids can participate in 4-H through community clubs, camps, in-school and after-school activities, and summer programs. They increase their self-confidence and personal life skills while learning about specific subjects - anything from animals or computers to public speaking, cooking, art, gardening and environmental sciences, just to name a few project topics.
A total of 220 volunteers developed educational opportunities for 998 youth in 40 clubs for 2021. Volunteers also assisted youth to help complete 2,645 projects. Our 4-H programming reached over 2,000 youth through traditional clubs and school programming. In addition, 4-H Volunteers and Youth along with community businesses continued to raise funds for the 4-H program.
Real Money, Real World is an active, hands-on experience that gives young people the opportunity to make lifestyle and budget choices similar to those they will make as adults. This experience helped some 1,195 Allen County middle and high school students to explore careers and realize the importance of family budgeting and how today’s consumer economy works. After completing the exercise, students stated: “I need to prepare myself better by doing well in school,” “It costs a lot to raise kids,” “I need to work hard in school and plan for my future,” and “I didn’t know how much everything cost. I need to think about college and what I want to do.”
You can also learn more about all OSU Extension 4-H youth development programs at http://ohio4h.org.
Special Needs Accommodations
Accommodations can be made for youth with disabilities through our Winning 4-H Plan. Visit https://ohio4h.org/about/join-4-h#winning-plan for more information and to download the request form.
Extension has been helping all Ohioans build better lives, better businesses and better communities since 1914.